Air conditioner and method for controlling same

Abstract

An air conditioner and a method for controlling same are disclosed. An air conditioner according to the disclosure comprises: an indoor unit including an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan; an outdoor unit including a compressor; at least one sensor; at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor to execute the instructions to identify a freezing process to form ice-capsules on a surface of the indoor heat exchange according to a first relative humidity sensed through the at least one sensor, control the indoor fan and the compressor to operate in the identified freezing process so that the ice-capsules are formed, identify a thawing process to thaw the formed ice-capsules according to a second relative humidity sensed through the at least one sensor while the indoor fan and the compressor are operating in the identified freezing process, and control the indoor fan to operate in the identified thawing process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner comprising:
 an indoor unit comprising a indoor heat exchanger and a indoor fan;   an outdoor unit comprising a compressor;   at least one sensor; and   at least one processor configured to:
 control the indoor fan and the compressor to operate in a pre-freezing process to form dew on a surface of the indoor heat exchanger based on a user command for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger being received, 
 control at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor differently from the pre-freezing process to operate in a freezing process to form ice-capsules on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger, and 
 control the indoor fan to operate in a thawing process to melt the formed ice-capsules after operating in the freezing process. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the pre-freezing process is a process in which the indoor fan rotates at a first freezing revolution per minute (RPM), and the compressor rotates at a first compressor RPM. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner according to  claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 determine the freezing process based on a relative humidity detected by the at least one sensor, and   control at least one of the indoor fan or the compressor to operate in the determined freezing process after operating in the pre-freezing process.   
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner according to  claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 control the compressor to operate in a first freezing operation of the freezing process in which the compressor rotates at a second compressor RPM higher than the first compressor RPM based on the relative humidity detected by the at least one sensor being less than or equal to a first threshold humidity and greater than or equal to a second threshold humidity, which is lower than the first threshold humidity.   
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner according to  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 control the compressor to operate in a second freezing operation of the freezing process in which the compressor does not rotate or rotates at the first compressor RPM after operating in the first freezing operation, based on the relative humidity detected by the at least one sensor being less than the second threshold humidity.   
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 control the compressor to operate in the first freezing operation after operating in the second freezing operation.   
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner according to  claim 6 , wherein
 the first freezing operation is a freezing operation in which the compressor rotates at the second compressor RPM higher than the first compressor RPM, and the indoor fan rotates at a second freezing RPM lower than or equal to the first freezing RPM, and   the second freezing operation is a freezing operation in which the compressor either does not rotate or rotates at the first compressor RPM, and the indoor fan rotates at the second freezing RPM.   
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner according to  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 terminate operation according to the first freezing operation based on that an evaporation temperature detected by the at least one sensor reaches a preset first target evaporation temperature.   
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the indoor fan and the compressor not to perform operations according to the freezing process and the thawing process based on at least one of:
 an indoor temperature detected by the at least one sensor being less than a first threshold temperature, or   an outdoor temperature detected by the at least one sensor being less than a preset second threshold temperature.   
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the thawing process is an operation process in which the indoor fan rotates at a preset thawing RPM, and operation of the compressor is stopped. 
     
     
         11 . A control method for an air conditioner including an indoor heat exchanger, an indoor fan, and a compressor, the control method comprising:
 controlling the indoor fan and the compressor to operate in a pre-freezing process to form dew on a surface of the indoor heat exchanger based on a user command for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger being received;   controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor to operate in a freezing process to form ice-capsules on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger; and   controlling the indoor fan to operate in a thawing process to melt the formed ice-capsules after operating in the freezing process.   
     
     
         12 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 11 , wherein the pre-freezing process is an operation process in which the indoor fan rotates at a first freezing revolution per minute (RPM), and the compressor rotates at a first compressor RPM. 
     
     
         13 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 12 , wherein controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor includes:
 determining the freezing process based on a relative humidity detected by at least one sensor, and   controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor to operate in the determined freezing process after operating in the pre-freezing process.   
     
     
         14 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 13 , wherein controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor further includes:
 controlling the compressor to operate in a first freezing operation in which the compressor rotates at a second compressor RPM higher than the first compressor RPM based on the detected relative humidity being less than or equal to a first threshold humidity and greater than or equal to a second threshold humidity, which is lower than the first threshold humidity.   
     
     
         15 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 14 , wherein controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor further includes:
 controlling the compressor to operate in a second freezing operation in which the compressor does not rotate or rotates at the first compressor RPM after operating in the first freezing operation based on the detected relative humidity being less than the second threshold humidity.   
     
     
         16 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 15 , wherein controlling at least one of the indoor fan and the compressor further includes:
 controlling the compressor to operate in the first freezing operation after operating in the second freezing operation.   
     
     
         17 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 16 , wherein
 the first freezing operation is a freezing operation in which the compressor rotates at the second compressor RPM higher than the first compressor RPM, and the indoor fan rotates at a second freezing RPM lower than or equal to the first freezing RPM, and   the second freezing operation is a freezing operation in which the compressor does not rotate or rotates at the first compressor RPM, and the indoor fan rotates at the second freezing RPM.   
     
     
         18 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 14 , further comprising:
 terminating operation in the first freezing operation based on that an evaporation temperature detected by at least one sensor reaches a preset first target evaporation temperature.   
     
     
         19 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 11 , further comprising:
 controlling the indoor fan and the compressor not to perform operations according to the freezing process and the thawing process based on at least one of:
 an indoor temperature detected by at least one sensor being less than a first threshold temperature, or 
 an outdoor temperature detected by at least one sensor being less than a preset second threshold temperature. 
   
     
     
         20 . The control method for an air conditioner according to  claim 11 , wherein the thawing process is an operation process in which the indoor fan rotates at a preset thawing RPM, and operation of the compressor is stopped.